Last month, Chrissy Teigen, a 36-year-old model and influencer, launched a line of baking mixes as part of her Cravings cooking empire. The boxed mixes for banana bread and salted white chocolate macadamia cookies are now available on her website, where you can also buy oven mitts and charcuterie boards for dogs. Should you try Teigen’s new offerings? Consider this: a New Zealand baker named Jordan Rondel says she stole the whole idea from her. Oh shit!
If the name Jordan Rondel sounds familiar, that’s probably because she collaborated with Teigen on a boxed carrot cake mix in September. Rondel, whose brand is called The Caker, sells “luxury” cake mixes for $25 a box on Amazon and at Bloomingdale’s. Rondel now says that Teigen tried to get out of their collaboration once she found out that her “new equity partner” wanted her to sell her own line of mixes. Rondel told the NZ outlet Stuff that she pushed to launch the collaboration anyway, with the understanding that Teigen’s mixes would be different from hers. But now, she thinks, they’re pretty similar:
“Sooo this has happened,” Rondel wrote on Instagram yesterday. “Chrissy Teigen released her own line of elevated baking mixes (pictured here alongside mine) right after we collaborated on a cake mix together.”
Pointing out that Teigen’s mixes include similar imagery, side panel copy, and ingredients (that last one’s hard to avoid), Rondel told Stuff, “I think they’ve taken heavy inspiration from us, I do. Let’s just say I do feel like some heavy inspiration has been taken.”
So far, Teigen has not commented on the accusations. Rondel said she does not plan to sue, but that she feels validated by others calling Teigen out. “There’s been an overwhelming response from my community about how crazy this is and how shitty I must feel,” she told Stuff. “I feel like, gosh I guess you’re right, and my community should be called out for their support and for sticking up for me and my brand.”
Do you think Teigen messed up here? Feel free to tell her on Instagram. In the meantime, I’m going to get some cake.
Teigen Tales is a series about Chrissy Teigen. Previously: Chrissy Teigen Attempts to Get Attention at Bravocon.
